To date liners for apparel and footwear have been assembled by the stitch and seam method whereby two layers are joined by a stitch pattern creating a seam. Waterproofing the seam was accomplished by taping and gluing the seam. However taped and glued, stitched seams tend to fail when subjected to stress from repeated use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,918 issued to Sturm discloses a flexible fire retardant and heat insulating glove that is mounted within and cemented to a flexible, water tight, vapor permeable plastic glove. A flexible reinforcement element having the outline of the plastic glove, with fingers somewhat longer than the fingers of the plastic glove, is cemented to one face of the plastic glove in substantial registry therewith. The fingers of the reinforcement element were extended beyond the fingers of the plastic glove to provide securement tabs. These securement tabs are stitched or tacked to the tips of the fingers of a reversed leather glove and reinforcement element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,551 issued to Daily et al. concerns elastomeric composite fabrics which have a layered construction and are made of a microporous polymeric membrane, water vapor permeable polymer, and an elastomeric thermoplastic non-woven material. The elastomeric composite fabrics provide barrier properties with water vapor permeability and find utility in articles which conform about another object.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,119 issued to Dube concerns a two component, waterproof, breathable glove and the corresponding methods of forming the glove. A homogenous membrane in regard to its permeability characteristics is attached to a fabric. The membrane is tacky on one surface and wear resistant on the other surface. Using a contoured mold and foam forms, the layers for the inner liner are cut and are thermowelded or bonded together to form a three dimensional inner shell of a glove. Then the formed inner shell is attached to an outer glove shell by conventional methods.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,523 issued to Battreall discloses a method for laminating a gas permeable layer onto a preformed substrate by forming a laminate precursor comprising a substrate and a gas permeable layer in which a layer of adhesive is positioned between the gas permeable layer and a substrate surface. A layer of water is formed on the surface of the gas permeable layer and the wetted surface is contacted by a preheated platen and superheated steam is ejected onto the gas permeable layer causing the adhesive to cure and bond the gas permeable layer to the substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,258 issued to Jarrel et al. concerns a breathable laminate which comprises at least two porous webs laminated together with a porous adhesive matrix, preferably a random fibrous adhesive pattern having a coat weight of between 1.5 and 12 grams per square meter. The two or more porous webs comprise woven or non-woven materials and the resulting breathable fabric or laminate has good hand flexibility. Breathable fabric is adhered to the foam by such random adhesive patterns of similar coat weights. Coating widths of up to 80 inches or more are produced in a slot die, with motors and pumps controlled to maintain consistent, uniform coat weights regardless of coat widths and substrate speeds selected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,801 to Bryant et al. describes a coating which when applied to fabrics enhances the thermal characteristics of the coated fabric. The coating includes integral and leak-resistant microcapsules filled with phase change material or plastic crystals that have specific thermal properties at predetermined temperatures.
A disclosure of Toshiichi Osako describes an arctic glove comprised of a cloth material on the outside, waterproof materials in the middle layer and a woven or knit material on the inside. The three layers are bonded together with adhesives in a dotted state.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,507 to Goodwin et al. discloses a laminated seam with outer tabs formed by heat sealing a membrane-backed composite layer to itself with a continuous layer applied as a hot melt to a fabric front layer. The heat and pressure of the heat sealing is said to penetrate the fibers in the fabric of the composite with the adhesive to form a leakproof seal impenetrable by viruses.
There is no teaching or suggestion of obviousness in the prior art respecting the present invention method of producing a synthetic film membrane and substrate fabric laminate or an outer substrate fabric, substrate fabric and synthetic film membrane laminate for application as a liner for clothing and footwear as described herein. More particularly, there is no teaching or suggestion of utilizing the laminates disclosed herein in a manner which eliminates the need for any post-construction manufacturing techniques traditionally used, such as stitched seams which are taped and glued, for providing a waterproof, waterproof/breathable, windproof, or vapor permeable synthetic seal.